135mm prime comparison

I've owned both and agree the SMC K is special, with great bokeh and yes definitely usable wide open. However, I get less fringing from the 135/3.5M, it's much smaller and the image quality is still very good - I kept the latter in the full knowledge that the f2.5 lens may have been a bit better - but the compact lens still performs very well and its size means it gets used a lot more, so made more sense for me. This one taken recently with the 135/3.5 plus Tamron 1.4X Pz AF TC:

Great photo Jon - regardless of which lens it was taken with

Hi All

For the sake of comparisons etc here are few from my Hoya M42 135mm f2.8 and the K10













I got a few funny looks turning up to shoot the bands with that combination - seems to work ok though

Regards


Stu

Though it appears I'm a little late joining the party, I wanted to thank you all for your input on this thread! I've been searching YouTube for information and coming up short, so reading all of your comments and viewing your images has been quite helpful! I just purchased the SMC 135 2.5 K for $150 on eBay and I'm anxious to give it a spin (still waiting on the adapter). I scored a deal on a M42 TAK 135 3.5 at a Salvation Army about two years ago and have been hooked ever since. I also just picked up a TAK 135 2.5 (Taiwan) for $15 at Goodwill. I was considering a comparison test similar to what you have done here and although you have really helped to clear this up for me I may add a few pics to this thread for the next adventurous photog who comes along.